Method of controlling an electric circuit and designating the same.



I. M. CARLEY.

METHOD 0" CONTROLLING AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT AND DESIGNATING SAME.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-7.19M

LQ3L$8 Patented Oct. 15, 1918.

a? V /Z JERUBLIE M. GARLEY, @F EAST GREENBUSH, NEW? YORK.

MEETHGD GE CQTHTRQLLHFG AN ELEGTRIC CIRGUIT AND DEEJGNATING SAME.

Specification or"v Letters Eatent.

Patented (Oct. 15, 191th.

Application filed March 7, i918. Serial No. 220,931.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, JnnoMn M. Cnnnnr a citizen of the United States, and resident of East Greenbush, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Method of Controlling an Electric Circuit and Designating Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a method of controlling an electric circuit and has for its object a means for opening and closing a circuit in a simple and convenient manner; also a means for designating said circuit.

In electrical construction work, it is common practice to terminate the conductors at intervals, as for instance, at junction boxes used where cables or wires connect to other cables or wires. For this purpose a terminal is used having two independent bindingposts supported from an insulating base, to each of these posts a conductor is connected, and between the posts a strip of sheet metal connects the terminals.

A construction of this kind is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 which embody my invention; Fig. 1 being a plan view and Fig. 2 is an elevation. Figs. 3 and 4: show details oil the construction, Fig. 3 being partly in sec= tion and Fig. 5 shows one method of its application.

In Figs. 1 and 2, 11 indicates the insulated base, 12 is the insulated conductors, 13 and 14 are the binding posts of the terminal; 15 is anut to secure the wire on the binding post, 16 is a lock nut which also secures the metallic link Qlin place and thus provides for the continuity of the circuit.

The link, in the present invention, is made.

in two pieces, the metallic part 21 and the insulating piece, preferably of vulcanized 'iiber, 22; these two pieces are secured together by rivets 23, or other means which hold thorn in alinenient.

The novelty in this arrangement consists, as shown in the enlarged details, Figs 3 and 1 in providing in the metallic strip 2-1 an opening considerably larger than the diameter of the binding post it while the corre-,

sponding opening in the adjacent insulating i ce 22 is a comparatively close tit on the binding 0st. The connectinglink 21, has, preferab a bias upward when clamped by the opposite post. It will thus be seen that when the nut 16 is unscrewed on the binding post 14:, Fig. 3, the circuit is opened at 2% between the link 21 and the top of nut 15. The insulating piece 22 thus insulates the nut 16 from the connecting link 21 and at the same time prevents this link from coming into contact with the binding post, Vlfhen the nut 16 is tightened, the circuit is securely established between 15 and 21.

his idea, naturally, lends itself to a variety of applications and modifications without departing from the principle of the invention. For instance, on the middle terminal Fig.1, the insulating piece 22 is shown as passing between both binding posts similar to the connecting link, while in the other applications it is shown as passing only part way over the link. It should be noted that if the link is inverted, with the insulating piece on the under side and the bias removed from the link, it will still erforni the function of the present invention, the only difierence in this case being that the link would make the circuit through the upper, instead of the lower nut.

lln practice, limited space, makes it necessary to place the terminals in rows close together. With the former type of link it was necessary to undo the nuts on both bindinp; posts and remove the link from the terminal in order to open the circuit. Another type oflink made in the form of a hook required releasing both look nuts to swing it open horizontally and was impractical'when placed adjacent to other terminals due to the ossibility of crossing with other circuits. l he present invention controls the circuit by a comparatively small vertical movement, which is quickly and easily efiected; Only one nut has to be released and this nut clamps the fiber insulation which, from itsnat-ure, acts as a nut lock to prevent the nut from turning.

@ne of the common uses to which this invention may he applied is illustrated in Fig. 5, this is in the application or a meter for testing purposes. The battery B, operates the translating device through the circuit tween wires 2930.

composed of wires 27, 28, 29 and 30. Between the Wires 27-28, a terminal may be inserted as shown,,and, where necessary, a

corresponding terminal may be inserted be The meter, or translating device 26, may be inserted in series in this circuit by clipping one lead 35 to the terminal 13 and another lead 36 to the terminal 14 and releasing the proper lockv nut. Tests may be made between different terminals in a similar manner. here desired, these terminals may be embodied as part of the testing instrument.

In certain classes of work, such as railway signaling, circuits are available for testing only at short intervals, this arrangement is well suited for conditions of this kind as the circuit can be instantly restored to normal I conditions simply by the pressure of the finger on the link. Combined with the features stated, this invention is also used as a means of designating the conductors of the circuit. The insulated piece 22 is such that it can be readily embossed by an embossing punch with the desired characters corresponding to the designation of the wires. This is shown in Fig. 1 Where the top wire has a tag 31 with the designation 126 La HC 10, corresponding characters being placed on the insulating piece 22. Similarly the second wire is marked Batt Pos. and the third wire 2232 JO 1, the piece 22 being correspondingly marked. If a wire becomes detached from its terminal its'positioncan thus be readily found.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, an electrical conductor, a plurality of binding posts, one of said binding posts having a plurality of nuts, a metallic connecting link secured to one of said binding postsand clamped between the nuts of the other binding post and forming part of said conductor, also, an insulated piece clampedbetween said nuts, said piece arranged to insulate said link from said post and one of said nuts.

2. In combination, an electrical conductor, a plurality of binding posts, one of said binding posts having a plurality of nuts, a

' metallic connecting link secured to one of said binding posts and clamped between the nuts of the other binding post and forming part of said conductor, also, an insulated piece clamped between said nuts, said piece insulating said link from said post and one of said nuts, and said link formed on' a bias to follow said insulated nut when it is unscrewed.

3. In combination, an electrical conductor, a plurality of binding posts, one of said binding posts having a plurality of nuts, a

metallic connecting link secured to one of said binding posts and clamped between the nuts of the other binding post and forming part of said conductor, also, an insulated piece secured to said link and clamped between said nuts, an opening in said linlc larger than said binding post and an opening in said piece to fit said binding post closely.

4. In combination, an electricalconductor, a plurality of binding posts, one of said binding posts having a plurality of nuts, a metallic connecting link secured to one of said binding posts and clamped between the nuts of the other binding post and forming part of said .conductor, also, an insulated piece secured to the upper side of said link and clamped between said nuts, an opening in said link and said piece for said binding post, the opening in said link being larger than the opening in said piece, said link having a spring action to follow the clamping nut engaging said piece when it is unscrewed.

5. In coinbinatioin-an electrical conductor with a particular designation, a plurality of binding posts, one of said binding posts having a plurality of nuts, a metallic link secured to one of said binding posts and clamped between the nuts of the other binding post and forming part of said conductor, also, an insulated piece secured to said link and clamped between said nuts, said piece insulating said link from said post and one of said nuts, and said piece capable of being embossed with the designation of said conductor.

6. In combination, an electrical conductor, a' plurality of binding posts, one of said binding posts having a plurality of nuts, a

binding posts having a plurality of nuts. a a

metallic connecting link secured to one of said binding posts and clamped between the nuts of the other binding post and forming part of said conductor, an insulated piece secured to saidlink and clamped between said nuts, said link constructed with a bias, and means for intcrrupting'the continuity of said conductor when said link follows said bias.

8. In combination, an electrical conductor,

a plurality ofbinding posts, one of said binding posts having a lock nut, a metallic mamas link connecting said iainding posts and form- Dutchess and tate of Ngw York, this 4th ing part of said conductor, an insulated piece day of March, A. D. 191 secured to said link and clamped by said JERQMEM. GARLEY. lock nut, said piece preventing said lock Witnesses: 5 nut from turning. T. M. MCGRATH,

Signed at Poughkeepsie, in the county of R. W. RHYNUS. 

